


Today Wasn't

by undeadsupernova



Category: Life and Death - Stephenie Meyer, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romantic Fluff, mention of rape, mentioning of homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:15:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23743672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undeadsupernova/pseuds/undeadsupernova
Summary: Royal sometimes can't be around everyone while he processes his trauma from the death he suffered. Emmett comes to check on him just to make sure he's going to be okay today.
Relationships: Emmett Cullen/Royal Hale
Kudos: 35





	Today Wasn't

“Hey, darling, are you okay?”

Royal didn’t move, not even when the sound of his soulmate’s voice awoke the dead nerves inside of him. Emmett’s voice was soft, light. Not a voice he used with anyone. Not even with the other members of the Cullens. 

“No.” Royal didn’t even move his lips to say it. He barely even used his voice, the sound so soft that no human could’ve heard it. He sat in a chair next to his bedroom window, a strand of hair falling from his short ponytail holding his hair back from falling in his face. His maroon sweater swallowed him, and for that Royal was grateful. It could hide his body; it could change him from a collection of limbs into a person with thoughts and feelings. Days like these he was grateful for it. Though he was isolated, he was glad the others were here. They helped to bring him back to the present.

Royal was lost in his memories again, back to when he was raped and left in the streets for dead. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way—not a night he thought he’d be left broken and used. All Royal did was kiss the boy down the block when others weren’t watching. The night was filled with secret romantic gestures and stolen touches. Regina, his fiancé, saw them once. When Regina told her brother what she’d seen him do, his friends found ways to make Royal pay for the crimes he committed. Though they weren’t gay, those made it a point to hurt him in the most intimate way possible. Out in the open; out in the public air for every passerby to see. To make a spectacle of. Set an example for. Learn a lesson from. 

That’s when Carlisle found him.

Though the memories were always going to be fuzzy, they were never going to fade completely. Immortality made sure of that. Royal was stuck inside the memories he’d been left with. These days he didn’t think about it so much but just like a worldwide disaster, it left a permanent impact. 

What was left inside of him was a desolate pile of mulch that stank with the smell of decaying carcasses and sewage. The mere thought of the past worsened his features and aged him quite a bit, even when his immortality wouldn’t allow such a thing. It couldn’t penetrate the walls of exhaustion and trauma. Nor could it drown out the sound of screams clawing deep cuts into Royal’s throat. 

Emmett wasn’t like those men. Royal knew this from the moment he saw Emmett’s body lying next to that bear. He had watched Emmett try to fight it off with a powerful endurance that only the best of men could bear. Even still, the time it took for Royal to become completely and utterly vulnerable in front of Emmett was long and grueling. Emmett had a hard time gathering the strength to approach Carlisle and Earnest on the subject of sex and what he should do to respect Royal completely while still making sure he knew he was loved. Not just for his body, but for every inch of who he was. 

Earnest was shocked by the abrupt approach but Carlisle was quite touched. It took a lot for Emmett at that time to come seeking out help for any issue. After this, he chose to start reaching out more and asking questions even if he was embarrassed by not knowing the answer already. Carlisle didn’t have much to say, mainly because he didn’t know what to do specifically for Royal. Even Edythe barely knew what was resting in the recesses of Royal’s brain for some kind of knowledge of what to do to make sure he felt safe.

What he did learn was this: always ask if something is okay, never pressure him to do something he doesn’t want to do, and be okay if he has a hard time getting through it. Emmett wouldn’t have done anything outside of this anyways, but it was good to know he was in the right. When they got through sex without any painful endings, Royal cried tearlessly as vampires do. But his sobs could be heard for miles and Emmett’s soothing praise was audible. Nothing felt better than hearing, “Thank you for trusting me to show you how much I love you” from the first man to respect you. Nothing. 

Today wasn’t a good day for Royal. Today wasn’t a day for intense intimacy or touching. Today was a day Royal had to take for himself to process and heal. Even if he would spend the next ten hours in the same chair next to the same window. Unmoving. No blinking or adjustment. Just a blank stare out into the wilderness while his mind worked in overdrive. He’d learned not to ignore it, but to work himself kindly through it. As long as he could be gentle with himself, it would be okay. 

Today wasn’t a day where he was sure he could be gentle.

“It’s not peaceful this time,” Royal whispered, louder this time. Not by much, but it was progress. “The mind is quite a nasty thing.”

Emmett cautiously walked in, closing the door behind him and coming to sit in front of Royal. “Yours is beautiful, even when it’s doing shit like this.” Emmett’s eyes studied Royal’s even though they weren’t making eye contact. He didn’t care, he just wanted to read his husband’s expressions. “You’ll get through this the way you’ve always gotten through it. You are the strongest man I know.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s you, dear,” Royal teased, barely lifting the sides of his mouth. It was teasing, just not able to be fully known due to Royal’s position.

Emmett laughed regardless. The sound made Royal melt. “We’re both the strongest men I’ve ever met. How’s that?”

Royal’s smile grew half an inch. “I think we can compromise on that.” He wanted to reach out and touch Emmett, but felt as though he’d shatter if he did so. It hurt him greatly to push away Emmett like that, but it wasn’t a good time to be touched. If he didn’t know any better, he’d probably take Emmett’s arm off if touched. Emmett looked like he knew that which was why his hands were muddled together in his lap.

“I think you’re doing an incredible job, babe. Seriously, you’ve worked your ass off to get the point you’re at today. Just imagine what a few more years will bring.”

Emmett was always so positive. That’s what drew Royal in when they first started talking. Royal would talk hopelessly about his past and how much he loathed being this creature. Emmett would counteract with the plus side which was: his beauty, his strength, and the fact that without the turn they wouldn’t be together. Royal knew from that moment on he would live without regrets for Emmett’s sake. 

Royal was quiet for a moment before saying, “I love you.”

“Oh! I love you, too!”

That was something Emmett did sometimes. Like he was still surprised Royal loved him back. It was for comedic effect but it still made Royal want to do it more.

Emmett got up and said, “I’ll leave you to be alone. Just holler for me and I’ll come get you.”

As Emmett began moving past Royal, Royal grabbed his arm. 

“No. Stay.” Royal looked up to see Emmett’s surprised features. “Uh, please,” he added.

Emmett’s eyes softened as he sat back down in front of Royal. “Of course, babe. Of course.”


End file.
